This invention relates to tenter clips of the type which are carried by opposed tenter chains and slide upon rails. The chains are mounted for a run with the web attached therebetween to the respective clips. Such tenter clips include a jaw which is pivotally carried in a housing which in turn includes a lower plate beneath the jaw mounting member. Often such tenter clips include controller members, carried by suitable linkage, which control the positioning of the web inserted between the jaw and lower plate member.
Such tenter clips include a pin carried by the housing upon which a movable jaw member is mounted. When such pins become worn it is customary to insert a larger pin which requires reboring the mounting portion of the housing, as well as the central bore of the bracket, to accommodate the pin within the pivoted jaw member. Another significant wear point of the tenter clip is the blade portion which confines the web beneath the movable jaw above the lower plate. Such member is generally an insert which is permanently secured in the slot within the jaw. Common practice, when the sharpened edge becomes worn, is to bevel and turn down the edge of the insert for reuse of the member. This expedient may take place only a limited number of times and such resharpening has the added disadvantage of destroying the proper alignment between the blade and the other members of the gripping jaw arrangement. The above deficiencies of such tenter clips are inherent in the structures illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,984,616, 1,927,998, 3,058,191, and 3,514,823.
When reconditioning and repairing tenter clips and chains, it has been found that the majority of the expense involves labor and that the items referred to above account for on the order of about half of such expenses.
Accordingly, it is an important object of this invention to provide for replaceable parts which may be utilized at the major wear points of a tenter clip in order to reduce the cost of parts of labor involved in reconditioning tenter clips and chains.